Discus with belly bulge

[mikeychdiscus]

Hi. Mike here.

I have 1 of my chequerboard pigeonblood with a problem. I noticed today when i got home that the fish has a distinct bulge in the belly. Seems to be acting normal, feeding avidly. I have had these guys for about 3 weekes now, purchased at the same time. I can see no white feceas. And the Disc doesnt seem to be in any distress. I did also notice it expell some sort of white stuff. Not sure how to describe it except to say it was like it coughed up some talcum powder.

water parameters are
Nitrate 0ppm
amonia .5 ppm
nitrite .00ppm
gh kh is at 4 degress or between 50 - 100 ppm acording to the chart
PH is 6.0 ( this is a bit of a concern to me as my ph has been stable at 6.6)


The tank is cycled, 50 gallon corner tank. I have 9 juvie disc in it. It is BB and i do a 10% water change daily plus 2 x 50% water changes a week. with cleaning the bottom of the tank daily. I also have 4 albino bristlenose in there. I kno
w the that is a lot of discus for one tank but it is not my intention to keep them all to maturity and beyond, once i have a pair i will be moving the others on.

should i be concerned? I have prazi on hand if it is a worm infestation, but i am retisant to just throw in meds. and if i do should i dose the whole tank or QT that one fish. I have a breeding tank i have set up however it is not cycled yet. Would meds affect the BN?

I am about to do a 50% water change now and i would be gratefull for any of your input.

I am uploading some pics but it is a bit hard to get the bulge to show in the pic. To be honest it reminds me of the bulge my female angel gets when she is full of eggs but i dont see how this could be the case.

Thanks
Mike

[mikeychdiscus]

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad353/Michael_Chanter/P1000712.jpg

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad353/Michael_Chanter/P1000698.jpg

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad353/Michael_Chanter/P1000702.jpg

[mikeychdiscus]

Temperature is 32c. Disc is eating.

[BigDaddyAdo]

Call me captain obvious but you claim that its cycled but you have .5 ammonia......... You need to adress this issue ASAP.

Did you add them all at the same time?

Filtration?

[mikeychdiscus]

Yes i added the fish all the same time. The amonia spike could be due to them having just eaten. I fed them once i came home and noticed the bulge then. For filtration i have a fluval 304 and also the internal trickle filter on the tank.

This is the fisrt amonia spike i have tested in the tank and i have been testing twice a week. Still i agree the amonia is a concern and I um upping my water change regiem.

[boxters]

I would not worry about the ammonia. At a ph of 6 ammonia is not toxic. I can see the bulge on your fish. To be sure it's not constipation I would treat with Epsom salts at 2 tbs per 20 litters. No water change till you see poop. As for the ammonia, your filter will catch up.

[mikeychdiscus]

ok thanks for that. Do you mean the epsom salts i can buy from the supermarket?

[boxters]

That is correct

[Mickey C]

That's not good news Mike, the fish were looking so good in your original pictures :(

When you moved your other fish out of this tank did you drain all the water, strip it down and move it or leave it empty for a length of time? You're saying it's cycled so I'm assuming you started from scratch again.

Or by cycled to you mean "had fish in this tank before, just took them out and put the discus in". I won't comment on treatment as I'm the least experience to do so :)

[mikeychdiscus]

No No :) i started from scratch, removed everything from the tank and started again as it were. The discs were too much of an investment for me to chance it. I am confidant that I have cycled my filters properly. i think three weeks in i would have seen a lot more of a drastic change in my water parameters a lot earlier, had i not cycled things properly. Off to safeway to get some epsom salts.

Thanks for the advice Guys. Much appreciated.

[Hollowman]

Well, how did you cycle it? How long? Seems a bit odd, you dont get an ammonia spike after feeding. Why dont people cycle properly these days?

Epsom salt is the treatment for a blockage, although it looks a little more towards the centre of the fish :?

Keep an eye on the water. :wink:

[lpiasente]

Why dont people cycle properly these days?
Cause we get toooo excited and want to see our tank full of bewdiful fishies :)

[Hollowman]

Why dont people cycle properly these days?
Cause we get toooo excited and want to see our tank full of bewdiful fishies :)
yeah, I know that Leanne, I also still get excited by new additions........ but it also leads to poor practice, un-necessary suffering and death. :(

[mikeychdiscus]

My thanks to boxters. The epsom salts worked a treat. My discus is very gratefull. :) as am i.

[boxters]

glad to have been of help

[lpiasente]

Why dont people cycle properly these days?
Cause we get toooo excited and want to see our tank full of bewdiful fishies :)
yeah, I know that Leanne, I also still get excited by new additions........ but it also leads to poor practice, un-necessary suffering and death. :(

I know that now and wouldn't dream of doing it.

[Mickey C]

Good to hear mate :) The solution was my initial though - kept my mouth shut.

Better to let the world think I'm a fool instead of opening my mouth and eliminating all doubt :D

[Hollowman]

I am glad it came to pass :lol: